The much-anticipated sequel to “Mama Tried” is here, in short story form.

A decade after leaving Louisiana amid a swirl of successes and sorrows, Joy Faye Savoy returns to the South. By her side is her scandalous best friend, never far from her mind is her unforgettable mother, and off in the Blue Ridge Mountains somewhere is the heartthrob from her past.

While Joy’s life in California is filled to overflowing with hearth and home, she has come to Asheville, North Carolina, seeking private atonement during springtime in Appalachia.

From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s grand old hotel room to a long-ago love, she comes to understand in one last extraordinary day that the past plus the future, with some jelly beans sprinkled in, can add up to peace this side of paradise.

Award-winning writer releases first novel!

Kathy Des Jardins announces the release of her first novel, Mama Tried. Winner of nearly 100 national, regional and state journalism awards during her years as a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, Des Jardins’ new book is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, KOBO, Scribd and other fine retailers, including a fabulous independent Atlanta-area bookstore, Bookmiser.

You can also download a Kindle version on Amazon,

‘Mama Tried’ summary

Disc jockey Joy Faye Savoy plays country songs written about women like her mother, the comely, exasperating Quida Raye Perkins. When Joy treats her audience to good-natured gripes about her big-haired and bossy mother, who’s known to hitch rides in semi trucks, she is shocked to find herself syndicated…with one catch—she must keep poking fun at feisty Quida Raye.

Joy makes the best of small-town stardom despite big-time baggage, a load not lightened by hunky co-workers or her overbearing best friend until true love strikes. She finally hears in those old melodies what she and her mother have had in common all along—yesterday, with its shared memories of happiness and tragedy…and they know all the words by heart.